University of Benin, UNIBEN, branch of Senior Staff Union of Nigerian University, SSANU, and two other unions in the university, have admonished the sacked 44 staff of the university to go to court and prove their innocence rather than engage in what they described as frivolous petitions against the management of the university.

The unions, including the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT and the Non-Academic staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, which briefed newsmen, yesterday, described as embarrassing and shameful, the allegations against some of the sacked lecturers, describing as “even more embarrassing, the campaign of calumny embarked upon by some of these people against the Vice Chancellor, Professor Osayuki Oshodin and the Governing Council of the University, when they are supposed to hide their heads in shame.”

It will be recalled that some of the sacked lecturers were allegedly involved in admission racketeering, extortion, sex abuse and several other offences.

Chairman of SSANU, Mr John Alile, who spoke on behalf of others, said: “It is disheartening to note that those who ought to bury their heads in shame for betraying the confidence reposed in them by the authorities of UNIBEN are jumping from one newspaper house to another to malign the VC and members of the Governing Council.

“UNIBEN is an old institution and we have well entrenched rules and regulations that guide its operation. It is pure mischief for any sacked staff to resort to maligning the VC and members of the Governing Council for the action taken when they knew that each person was given the privilege of defending himself/herself.

“It is our belief that if they say that they are not guilty, they should go to court even though we are aware that before their sack, their cases were investigated by the Council. We know their grand plan is to discredit the current administration of the university as a prelude to installing their stooge as VC in no distant time.